A stranger entered a cafe in Milan and puzzled its occupants by saying:

"I'm neither a foreigner nor Milanese."

"Then what are you?" they asked.

"I am an Italian,'" he explained.

Gian Rinaldo Carli

Della Patria Degli Italiani

It took another one hundred years before this nationalistic tone resulted in Risorgimento, or the Kingdom of Italy, which was completed in 1871. These days, nationalism is a four-letter word, and patriotism is being tested by policies that turn the concept of fairness on its ear.

The western world is being torn apart by (past) success and complacency, which is a deadly combination that has resulted in welfare societies being unable to denote the difference between tough love and real love.

Moreover, the argument is further complicated in America where any talk of asking fellow citizens to use their wit and determination to change their lot in life is greeted with cries of racism. Nonetheless, there is a movement gaining momentum in which the makers are essentially saying "enough," we just want our own thing.

For the most part, most nations have been cobbled together throughout the years, formed in the aftermath of war. While lines on maps can be erased or redrawn, and language and costumes can be stifled, the burning desire that dwells within a people for the love of their roots cannot be extinguished. Still, such passion can be expressed along with a greater love of country, when things are good, or when the entire nation has a singular purpose. Unfortunately, this is not the case anymore.

Big problems are not about slight differences in political opinion.

Veneto has 5 million people, and it is one of the richest regions of Italy. Recently, an online vote revealed 89 percent of residents want to break away and form an independent nation. These rumblings have existed in Northern Italy for a number of years, creating political tension that some see as a powder keg. Hardworking and industrious regions including Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany, and Emilia-Romagna are all worked up over the confiscation of their sweat to placate the non-working south.

Last year, the residents of Veneto paid out €30.0 billion more in taxes to Rome than it received in benefits.

Catalonia has made the most noise as of late on the topic of separating to form its own nation. Absorbed into Spain and beaten into submission by France, the region had to suppress its culture and language (and only in 1979, has the dual language with Spanish become official). Catalonia has overcome such treatment to become an economic juggernaut in a nation with 20% of adults under age 30, who have never held a job. Now, the residents of Catalonia send €17.0 billion more in tax payments to Madrid than they get in return as benefits.

Flanders was the runt of Belgium, but it has been forged into a vibrant economy, while its French-speaking neighbors seek to suck up more and more welfare payments and government jobs each year. I have long suspected that a successful independence movement here is possible, and it could still happen, as Dutch-speaking people demand autonomy, and a celebration of their language and culture. Then there is the money rub. According to reports, transfer payments from Flanders to Wallonia in 2007 amounted to €5.7 billion, and when taking into account debt and interest payments, this amounted to €11.3 billion.

Bavaria is the second most populace region of Germany, and an economic powerhouse. With 12 million people, it would have a population larger than 20 members of the European Union. Its €440.0 billion GDP would be the envy of most of Europe as well. Religion (Catholic) and dialect also separate the region from the rest of the country.

There are several other independence movements at various stages throughout Europe, including Madeira in Portugal and Scania in Sweden, where proponents of independence continue to fret over its 1658 takeover. The movement and vote in Scotland could be monumental in how other attempts for independence in Europe fare, in which I plan to write about at a different time as I get a better handle on the lay of the land.

However, there are enough examples of burgeoning movements, where hard working people are tired of being ripped-off by their government.

Of course, the powers that pull the strings are worried sick over the possibility of a wave of successions in Western Europe, just as Russia is reclaiming former regions. Even though most would-be breakaway regions have hinted at staying in the EU, these industrious people understand the immense trade-off that comes with joining a common currency, a common legal structure, and common taxes, which might negate all they would have worked for, especially on the tax front.

Facebook

No Iframes

About The High Plains Daily Leader

The High Plains Daily Leader and Southwest Daily Times are published Sunday through Friday and reaches homes throughout the Liberal, Kansas retail trade zone. The Leader & Times is the official newspaper of Seward County, USD No. 480, USD No. 483 and the cities of Liberal and Kismet. The Leader & Times is a member of the Liberal Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Press Association, the National Newspaper Association and the Associated Press.

Subscribe

Get the Daily Leader delivered to your home for $101.45 per year in Liberal, or $140 outside Liberal. Call 620-626-0840 for a subscription today. You can receive the print edition or an electronic edition! To subscribe today, email circulation@hpleader.com.